Ta-Nehisi Coates has spoken at length about his love for comic books, both past and present. Having earned his stripes as a national correspondent for The Atlantic as well as one of the foremost authors on race in America, Coates is about to take on a new challenge: writing a Black Panther comic for Marvel.

Beginning next year, Coates will helm the storyline for Black Panther, an intersection of his meetings and discussions with Marvel editor Sana Amanat in regards to diversity and inclusion in comic books. Those talks led to the creation of the new Ms. Marvel, a teenage Muslim girl from Jersey City based upon Amanat’s own upbringing.

“He has the baddest costume in comics and is a dude who is smarter and better than everyone,” Axel Alonso, the editor in chief of Marvel told The New York Times. The character not only adds to the diversity of Marvel’s comics; he will do it for their films too: Black Panther is set to make his big-screen debut next year in “Captain America: Civil War,” followed by a solo feature in 2018.”

The storyline for Coates’ Black Panther, “A Nation Under Our Feet,” comes from a 2003 book of the same title by Steven Hahn. Black Panther will deal with an uprising in his native Wakanda created by a superhuman terrorist group called The People. Coates, a lifelong Marvel super fan has affirmed that the main goal he wants out of his Black Panther is not just diversity and a broader story told about the first African-American Marvel superhero, but a great comic in general.

About The Author

Brandon Caldwell is the founder & editor-in-chief of Day & A Dream. His work has appeared in VIBE, UPROXX, Complex, EBONY, the Village Voice, the Houston Press, Houston Style Magazine, DJBooth, The Sports Fans Journal, and more. Follow him on Twitter: @_brandoc